Composing a four-part motet from scratch!

For the footnotes and other extra information see the following link:

0:00 Introduction
1:04 The Source
2:40 Rewriting Ziprianus’ Sicut cervus
30:49 Scrolling score of Ziprianus’ Sicut cervus

Created by Elam Rotem, August 2024.
Performance of Ziprianus’ “Sicut cervus” by Cappella Pratensis, 20 August, 2024.
Many thanks to Stratton Bull and Cappella Pratensis’ singers: Andrew Hallock, Tim Braithwaite (artistic direction), Lior Leibovici, Korneel Van Neste, Peter de Laurentiis, Marc Busnel, Jonty Coy, and Máté Bruckner.
Special thanks to Iason Marmaras, Tim Braithwaite, Karel Valter and Anne Smith for their input.

[jamesboyd]

'How it might have been made' is what analysis should always be, and very rarely is. The destructive approach proves nothing while the speculative opens up a world of different realities - and fires our imaginations. Thank you!

[rionsanura]

This compositional strategy walkthrough is a great format! The modified hypotheticals are so interesting. By the way, my condolences on the sunset of Finale. I hope your transition is smooth.

[rfv]

Bravi tutti! Also RIP Finale. A worthy swan song

[taylordiclemente]

Fantastic episode! I love your approach of rebuilding a piece from scratch.

I note that the "mi-" of "miserere" is sung on the note mi.

[gambe]

Amazing episode ! this channel is a goldmine for the amateur historically interested musician.

[notasinglef]

Guess this is the closest to time travel we'll ever get...thanks for being able to "turn into" Ziprianus and sharing the process with us

[pichan]

There is nothing that even comes close to the value of your videos - especially when it comes to Early Music! Thanks for sharing your immense wisdom and insight!

[williamcaine]

I skipped to the end of this because I didn't even know what a Motet was and just wanted to hear what it all sounded like before watching 30 minutes of compositional study, and oh my gosh if this isn't absolutely beautiful harmony and motion. I really can't wait to watch the rest of this from the beginning now!

[janaldoson]

We stay, don’t worry! So much knowledge and musicality! Love to watch all your episodes but this was extra interesting. Thank you!

[davidecoppolacomposer]

This is the reason Why I follow this gorgeous channel <3 Many thanks!!!!

[LucasFigueiredoBR]

This is one of the best – if not THE best – musical analyses I've ever seen on the internet. It would be great if this could become a series.

[TenorCantusFirmus]

Gorgeous piece. And as Confucius said, "if I do, I understand" - Thus, analyzing a piece "from within" like in this case is an extremely good idea.

[theflyingrobby]

I taught this subject at University for 44 years, every second year. This is exactly the project all of my students did. I played them in class and discussed the problems in this very same way.
I used Soderlund’s book and anthology.

[ByronAdams-jt]

This is wonderful. It might have been useful, however, for your viewers to learn that the text is the tract before the blessing of the water during the liturgy for Holy Saturday. This may also be an important clue to fuller understanding of the composer’s creative process.

[spencerbaldwincomposer]

This is an outstanding video. I am continually amazed at how clearly and effectively you guys present this information. I learn so much!

[electric]

30:50 For anyone wondering, A4 is 360 Hz in this recording.

[woutervangucht]

Weer een leerzame les uit de reeks. Wij zingen met het koor vooral renaissance muziek, en early music helpt ons daar keer op keer. Als dirigent ken ik natuurlijk de klassieke harmonie, maar dit gaat veel verder dan wat wij ooit geleerd hebben. Met deze reeks wordt alles veel duidelijk. En daar genieten de koorleden ook erg van. Bedankt.

[henrygaida]

First and foremost, this is a beautiful motet (of course, I have an affinity to Mode III), and deserves to be better known.

Second, as I've learned in my own experience of composing and singing polyphony, the techniques of Cantare super librum (Canon, gymel, faburden, etc.) are really fundamental to composition, and are found everywhere.

[stefanodigarbo]

Elam, my most heartfelt thanks for this great video. You are a superb teacher and divulgator

[liminalspces]

I think this is the best channel with information about archaic and classical music. It's perfect; the edition, the explanation and the format... Congrats!